Madley: I was axed for video mocking disabled
FORMER Premier League referee Bobby Madley has revealed he was sacked after a private message he sent mocking a disabled person was leaked to his employers.
Madley retired suddenly in August 2018 at just 32, with a statement by the referees’ governing body (PGMOL) claiming he had chosen ‘to relocate due to a change in his personal circumstances’.
The official’s shock exit sparked widespread rumours about his decision. Now, addressing the situation publicly for the first time, Madley has hit out at ‘ridiculous’ suggestions he stepped down because he was filmed performing a lewd act with a dog and also dismissed claims about his new Norwegian partner.
He did, though, confirm that after being taunted about his weight and not taking part in the parents’ race at his daughter’s sports day, he recorded a six-second Snapchat clip of someone with a walking impairment passing his car.
He captioned the clip ‘f**k me I have a chance of winning the parents race this year’ and sent it as a private message to an unnamed person, who then passed it on following an argument over a family matter with Madley. This led to his immediate dismissal by referees’ chiefs for gross misconduct on grounds of discrimination.
He said on his personal blog: ‘At that point my world fell apart. I regret taking the video, I regret sending that video and whilst it was a dark humoured joke, it was just that. A joke. It was not intended to shame anyone, it was not intended to be seen by anyone other than the person I sent it to in a text message on my personal phone (not a work phone).
‘Whilst I absolutely understand the importance of an employer taking discrimination seriously, as they did, the decision to this day still stuns me.
‘Whilst my actions were badly misjudged, it was a joke. A private joke. Something that I am certain pretty much everyone reading this has done with friends/partners in the privacy of their relationships and with no expectation that person would allow that to be used to end their professional career.’